Top Attractions in Dominica

First Visit: January 2017

My Country #65

Trip to Dominica and the French West Indies

A few weeks ago, Mike and I were on a trip again and this time, we explored three small islands in the Caribbean. First, we flew from Paris to Fort de France in Martinique where we stayed for two nights. From there, we took the ferry from Saint-Pierre to Roseau, Dominica where we were hosted by our travel partner in their lovely lodge for five nights. From Roseau, we took the ferry to Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe and stayed there for three nights before flying back to Paris. Both Martinique and Guadeloupe are overseas regions of France so it was like traveling within Europe as no passport control was required. Obviously, they speak French although English was also spoken in restaurants and hotels. In Dominica, we met Norun, owner of the beautiful Hibiscus Valley Inn. While there, we did different tours including a visit to the Cabrits National Park and Kalinago Center among others, and did one of the coolest water activities I've known, river tubing 😊 We definitely had fun during this trip and hopefully we would be back again to explore more of the Caribbean islands in the future 😉

Review: Air France Lounge Hall 3, Paris Orly Airport (ORY)
Visiting the French West Indies: Martinique & Guadeloupe
Top Attractions in Dominica
Review: Air France Lounge, Pointe-à-Pitre Airport (PTP)
Review: Air France Lounge Terminal 2F Gate 50, Paris (CDG)
Review: Air France Lounge Terminal 2F Gate 30, Paris (CDG)

Me at Fort Shirley overlooking Prince Rupert Bay

Known as the Nature Island of the Caribbean, it is easy to understand why this little island became the choice for filming parts of the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest". The Dominican landscape is just beautiful 😊 With nice secluded beaches, waterfalls, rivers and tropical rainforest, Dominica is a haven for those seeking tranquility with nature. Other activities you can do include river tubing, whale watching, all day trek to the Boiling Lake and many more. Unfortunately, we were not able to do our whole itinerary as planned since Mike got sick the last two days of our stay. Still, we were able to relax and enjoy the surroundings at Hibiscus Valley Inn. In case you are planning to travel to Dominica, here are some travel tips:

Indian River Tour: The Indian River itself was where the "Swamp Scene" from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie was filmed. During the tour, you'll cruise the river with a traditional island rowboat.

With gnarled roots of mangrove trees surrounding the treehouse, this was just perfect for the Swamp Scene.

A short video I took during our Indian River Tour 😉

Cabrits National Park: There's just so much you can do here although we only had time to visit Fort Shirley. In case you will visit this park, plan accordingly to enjoy all the other things this park has to offer.

Fort Shirley

Calibishie: This is where the Waterwheel Fight Scene was filmed

Visiting the Kalinago Cultural Village and learning all about the history of the Carib Indians.

River Tubing: There are about 365 rivers in the whole of Dominica but there are only two rivers where you can enjoy river tubing, one of which is the Pagua River so make sure you don't miss this water activity.